By: Rhiannon Traill, owner, president and CEO of the Economic Club of Canada

When not all members of society have equal access to financial education, we take away their ability to be healthy, independent and successful.

The vast majority of people who hear the terms "financial literacy" or "financial empowerment" simply hit the snooze button in their brain right after it's mentioned. The other small minority of the population who actually care about financial literacy, or at the very least understand that it's important, still remain in the dark when it comes understanding why it's so important.

So here it is... access to a quality financial education, in my opinion, should be considered a basic human right. Financial education is a survival skill. You simply cannot thrive in today's modern economy without an understanding of money.